Letter in support of Classics and Ancient History at University of Exeter
7 July 2026
To Professor Lisa Roberts, President and Vice Chancellor; Professor Dan Charman, Senior Vice-President and Provost; Professor Gareth Stansfield, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean for Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences; Imelda Rogers, Deputy Registrar and Executive Divisional Director of Human Resources; David Stacey, Chief Financial Officer; Quentin Woodley, Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council
We are representatives of subject associations and learned societies concerned with Classics and Ancient History, writing on behalf of colleagues across the UK, to express our concern and dismay at the University of Exeter’s proposals to make substantial academic redundancies within its Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS). Particularly troubling is that these cuts are directed not at underperforming areas, but at disciplines that have consistently demonstrated excellence in research, teaching, and impact. Several of the affected departments, including Classics, Ancient History, Religion and Theology, rank among the strongest in the UK according to established measures such as the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), and national and international league tables.
The proposal to reduce academic staff in Classics and Ancient History by two full-time equivalent posts may seem modest when viewed against a total establishment of twenty FTE. But it must be understood in the context of the department’s recent history. Staffing has already been reduced recently through voluntary severance and retirement by a further three FTE. The current proposals therefore represent a cumulative loss of approximately one-fifth of the subject’s academic capacity within a relatively short period. A period in which student numbers have risen, moreover, so that staff-student ratios have already taken a serious hit.
These proposals are particularly alarming because they affect one of the UK’s most distinguished and innovative centres for the study of the ancient world. Exeter’s Classics provision has earned an exceptional international reputation, in areas from Classical reception to Ancient Science, Latin literature, classical archaeology to digital humanities and more. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, the department ranked fourth in the UK for world-leading (4*) Classics research, while 100% of its research impact was assessed as internationally excellent or world-leading. Since then, colleagues have been awarded major grants by the AHRC/DfG, ERC, Leverhulme, UKRI and Wellcome. The last two are, moreover, for innovative interdisciplinary projects operating across the humanities and sciences and tackling key questions around changing histories, concepts and cultures of disease, health and the environment.
These are questions and issues which the University of Exeter itself, in its Strategy 2030 focus on health and sustainability, has said it prioritises; yet these researchers are now at risk of redundancy. Meanwhile, the wider impact of Classics and Ancient History research at Exeter has been repeatedly recognised. For example, Classics and Public Policy: Perspectives from the United Kingdom (May 2026) is the first publication dedicated to the study and application of Classics in and for policy communities across the UK, and it includes a significant proportion of Exeter contributions, with three chapters by colleagues and a fourth by a UG/PGT alumna. Notably, Exeter is also singled out in the volume’s introduction as a centre for this kind of work, underscoring the department’s nationally recognised impact. Taken together, this evidence demonstrates that Exeter Classics and Ancient History is at the forefront of developing co-created, transdisciplinary research agendas that are essential for addressing current societal challenges.
Exeter Classics and Ancient History is also ranked fifth in the UK for Classics in the Complete University Guide 2027 and has been consistently in the top 50 in international QS rankings. These are both indicators of strengths in teaching, student learning experience and employability, as well as research, impact and global esteem. Undergraduate student numbers have been rising: the number of entrants increased 17.6% last year, in the context of a roughly 8% rise in classics and ancient history admissions in UK Universities overall. Even more impressive is that the Exeter postgraduate research student community is especially thriving at a time when, according to annual data collected by CUCD, the national picture has seen a decrease in postgraduate enrolments. Needless to say, Exeter CAH students, undergraduate, PGT and PGRs will be devastated by these announcements.
The proposed cuts are especially concerning in light of the regional context. The British Academy has identified South West England as a major cold spot for the study of arts, humanities and social sciences (SHAPE subjects), including Classics and Ancient History. In regions where opportunities to study these subjects are already limited, it is therefore particularly important that universities are able to offer high-quality provision. Such provision depends not only on the excellence of individual scholars but also on preserving the mass of academic expertise required to deliver a broad and intellectually ambitious curriculum. Significant reductions in staffing consequently threaten precisely those qualities that have made Exeter a national and international leader in Classics, while diminishing educational opportunities in a region that can least afford to lose them.
The arts, humanities and social sciences should be absolutely central to the University’s mission. They generate cultural, social, and economic value while equipping graduates with critical, analytical, linguistic, creative and leadership skills that employers consistently seek, and the world needs. Universities also serve broader public purposes: their strength lies in intellectual diversity and substantial contraction of HASS risks diminishing the distinctive character that defines Exeter.
We acknowledge that times are difficult in Higher Education, and that management have a responsibility to the whole university community; however, challenges are best met through consultation and collaboration, not diktat. Our Exeter colleagues have plenty of good ideas, indeed have already been working on a range of business initiatives, and on educational provision across other Faculties, but this is all now thrown into doubt. The space for discussion has been closed by these dramatic redundancy proposals before even opening up. So we strongly urge you to continue to support your excellent Classics and Ancient History colleagues in their highly impressive and successful work, to bring them into the discussions rather than reject excluding them. Reputational damage is already occurring, and risks becoming permanent, with the University sliding down the various league tables as a result, but this process can be reversed by quick and supportive action now.
Yours sincerely
Dr Kathryn Tempest (Chair, Council of University Classical Departments)
Prof. Hella Eckardt (President, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies)
Dr Margaret Mountford (President, Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies)
Professor Judith Mossman (Chair of the Board of Trustees, Classical Association)
Professor Katherine Harloe (Director, Institute of Classical Studies)